


When You Wore A Tulip

by sonicshambles



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Language of Flowers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-04
Updated: 2015-12-04
Packaged: 2018-05-04 07:11:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5325242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonicshambles/pseuds/sonicshambles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clara explores the Doctor's love of flowers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When You Wore A Tulip

Only a few feet stood between them and the TARDIS and the sounds of footsteps behind them were long since faded. It still made Clara nervous when the Doctor stopped to quite literally smell the roses that grew along their path. Any other time and she would have drunk in the sight of him bent over with his eyes half closed and a trace of a smile across his face. But the three times they'd escaped certain death that day gave her no confidence they'd escape a fourth so she tugged at his hood and urged him along. He stumbled a little when they first took off running again but quickly recovered and their grip on the other's hand was equally strong as they finally entered the TARDIS.

The Doctor quickly busied himself with getting them out of there and now that she was safe Clara turned into the distracted one. She wrapped her hands around his waist and ran her hands up under his layers of clothing. He leaned back against her and she took that as a sign she wasn't going to interrupt their escape if she stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to the back of his neck. 

"What is it with you and flowers?"

He titled his head to the side and she watched the smile spread across his face as her fingers traced circles against his torso. 

"What about me and flowers?"

"I've just noticed you enjoy smelling them. Back there wasn't the first time you've stopped to do so."

He shrugged and Clara drew her hands out from his layers and worked to remove his coat which was flung to some dark corner of the control room. They worked together to remove his hoodie and when he was finally down to just his tattered t-shirt Clara wrapped herself around him again. She pressed a string of kisses along his collarbone and waited for him to answer her question.

"I don't think it's anything special, I just like them."

"I'll try to find a florist who delivers to TARDISes and send you bouquets of red roses to show my devotion."

He turned around so they faced each other and ran his fingers back through her hair.

"Red roses mean love. Lavender means devotion."

Clara stretched up and let her lips softly brush against the side of his mouth.

"I'll send you both."

His smile was his biggest, brightest one that made his eyes light up and made Clara's own smile grow every time she saw it.

"You know there's a garden here on the TARDIS, right?"

She shook her head.

"I keep telling you to draw me a map and label everything."

"It's not that complicated to find your way around. I never get lost."

She silenced that train of thought with a kiss that wiped all thoughts of flowers and TARDIS maps out of their minds for at least a few moments.

"I can almost always find the library so maybe I'll do some reading up on flower meanings."

"Now?"

Clara pressed tighter against him and led her hands slide down his back and cup his backside.

"Later."

"Good."

The next few minutes were full of more kissing and getting Clara's coat and dress off but foreplay between them generally included one or two or many returns to their previous conversation depending on how heated it was. 

"I like flowers because many of the best ones are small and fragile but powerful in the scent they give off. You have to handle them with such care but the reward is so great."

The whole time he spoke she kissed a path down his neck and marked her favorite spot with a gentle press of her teeth against the skin.

"Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"Why don't we talk a little more about you handling me with care now."

"Or not talk at all."

"If we can manage that."

Her legs were off the floor and wrapped around his waist in seconds and there was no more talking as he walked them to the stairs.

* * *

Clara never reacted well to being left behind in the TARDIS. In fact no matter how times she was asked to, told to, or begged to she always ended up outside of it and at the Doctor's side. It should have aroused the Doctor's suspicions when he told her to stay behind and she did. The trip was a quick stop off at a marketplace that sold what he needed to fix a minor issue with one of the control panels. Clara prayed to every god on every planet they'd ever visited that he would be gone just long enough for her to set everything up and return in one piece with no angry mob at his heels. 

Like most things sound worked different in the TARDIS. No matter how far away the rooms were from the control room you could hear the door open. She heard him enter and even heard him pause each time he found another flower. 

The lavender for devotion.

The red rose for love.

The dandelion for happiness.

The forsythia for anticipation. 

The red camellia for passion.

When he entered the room she was posed on his bed. She wore nothing and held a red tulip in her hand. He spent a few moments staring at her and she tried not to fidget under his intense gaze. There were unspoken rules between them in regards to their relationship. Sex tended to happen almost everywhere but a bed and sleep usually happened separately. Both rules had been broken at least once per bed (his, her's on the TARDIS, her's in her flat) but they remained in place as they navigated their way through a relationship both still struggled to accept as real. 

His voice was thick and low when he finally spoke as he started to remove his coat.

"Clara -"

"Doctor, get over here."

He disrobed as he walked across the room and when he joined her on the bed he was as naked as she was. Clara breathed a sigh of contentment as he stretched his body over her's. She wrapped her arms around him with the flower still in her hand and pulled him tighter against her. As he kissed her she ran the flower down the center of his back and smiled against his lips when she felt him shiver. Clara opened her legs and drew them up around his thighs as they resumed kissing. When he brushed her hair back and let his mouth drop down to neck Clara had one of those moments when it didn't matter that they had all of time and space to explore. Everything she wanted and needed was wrapped around on his bed. She smiled against the side of his face and placed a kiss against his temple as his mouth sucked at the curve of her throat. 

Clara felt the Doctor lift his head up to look down at her. When they were that close and things were heated it was hard to look him in the eyes for too long. The intensity of his stare always overwhelmed her and she had to look away after a few moments. Her eyes wandered from his to watch as one of his fingers traced the upper curve of her breast. She lost herself in the movements and the long, elegant line of his finger. As he started to speak she lifted it to her mouth and sucked in just the tip. Her freedom to perform such small acts on him still shocked her. That every inch of him was her's to touch and taste and mark was a privilege she took seriously. The Doctor withdrew his finger and traced the outline of her lips.  
"Have I forgotten some special occasion?"

"Hmmm?"

One arm was flung across his back and the flower still dangled from her hand. She ran it up and down his side as her other hand found ways to make the messy curls on the back of his head even messier.

"All these flowers and you in my bed like this. It feels like something reserved for a special occasion."

"No, no occasion. After our talk the other day I went to the library, did some research, actually found the garden, and wanted to show you the results."

His smile made his eyes glitter with a very particular kind of promise and Clara flexed her hips up on impulse.

"Clara, are you asking me to grade your homework?"

Clara let out a low, breathy laugh.

"I suppose I am. Are you up for it?"

The Doctor sat up and kneeled between her legs. He took the flower from her and pressed it against his face before he lowered it and placed it against her neck. As he arched over her he slowly he started to slide it down the center of her body, between her breasts, along her abs, past her bellybutton and with another smile that made her grip the sheets under her hands he slid it down between her legs. The feel of the petals was a soft tickle against her skin and as he drew the flower along a more sensitive part of her inner thigh she swallowed a moan. He probably knew by that point how easily he unraveled her but she still liked to pretend he thought he needed to work for it. The petals dragged all the way down her inner leg. When the Doctor reached her toes he lifted her leg up and placed a kiss along the side of her foot. 

As he slowly drew the flower up her other leg Clara gazed at the Doctor. Her facial expression was a mix of adoration and lust and she both wanted him to never stop touching her exactly like that and to feel more of him on her. When he once again reached the point between her legs he paused for a moment before he leaned down to kiss her. As their lips met Clara felt him reach to the side and place the flower on the nightstand. Their arms wrapped around each other and Clara started to maneuver herself underneath him in an attempt to get him on his back.

The Doctor held her place before she was able to start turning them.

"Not yet."

With that he kissed a path down her body in the same line he drew the flower. When he reached between her legs she felt his tongue slowly start to open her up. She was already wet but his lips and tongue worked quickly to make her wetter and when he moved his hand over to join them he easily slid a finger inside her. That finger was quickly joined by another as his mouth formed a tight circle around her clit. Clara rocked forward to press herself even closer against his touch. His tongue drew teasing circles around her clit and she thought she might go insane when he withdrew all but the tips of his fingers and just barely moved them inside her. This went on for several moments before he again pushed his fingers all the way inside her and pressed his mouth hard against her. He quickly brought her to the edge and her body moved in desperate waves as his fingers pumped harder and faster. As with everything else he took an interest in, the Doctor treated sex with her as an activity in which his utmost attention to detail and skill were required. It was never anything less than the most intense thing she'd experienced since the last time they were together. It seemed to Clara that every time was both an exercise in putting to use what he had learned about her body. He knew where to press harder, use more tongue, use a little teeth, and the exact moment he could send her over the edge or pull back and leave her wanting. 

Clara felt his fingers slip out and his mouth grew slack. It was invitation and one she took eagerly. In seconds he was on his back with her legs braced against the sides of his body. They smiled in perfect unison as she positioned herself above his cock and slowly lowered herself down. It was her last slow movement as they immediately set a quick pace. The Doctor's hands were tight around her hips but Clara was in complete control of her movements. The mere feel of him inside her was enough to drive her wild and Clara worked to feel every inch of him. She moved along his length at a pace fast enough to make the bed shake. Her hands were braced against his shoulders and when she came it was with a shout and a grip so tight it was bound to leave marks on his skin. He held her in position as her body shook and only let go when she went still. She collapsed against him with him still buried inside her. Clara felt his hearts beating at the same rapid pace as her's. 

When he flipped her on her back everything moved slower. He drew himself in and out of her in long, slow strokes and in the stillness between movements a naked, raw want for him overwhelmed her. Her heels dug into the mattress and her fingernails scratched up his sides before her hands locked behind his neck. As they kissed he started to move faster. The kiss didn't break until his mouth went slack against hers and his body moved in several uncoordinated thrusts that pushed them both over the edge. The next few moments were a hazy blur as their breathing and heart rates slowly returned to somewhat normal. The Doctor pulled out of her but immediately reached for her as his back landed on the mattress. Clara wrapped herself around his side, content to enjoy this for as long as possible. 

Everything grew still and quiet and Clara felt herself drift off as the Doctor traced soothing circles along her back. From there she fell quickly into a state of almost sleep, too deep into it to easily brush it off but still awake enough to hear and sense what was going on around her. She felt him leave the bed and walk around to the nightstand. There were noises she couldn't quite comprehend so when he exited the room a few minutes later she forced herself to open her eyes. He had placed the flower in a vase and somehow produced water to fill said vase. Clara smiled at the flower and shut her eyes. Her last action before she fell asleep was to make sure she was positioned to see the flower first when she woke up. 

The red tulip for undying love.

**Author's Note:**

> I love Twelve's recurring habit of stopping to smell a flower and wanted to play around with both that and Clara's reaction to it. Flower meanings were taken from various websites on the language of flowers. I went with the meanings that were the most consistent from site to site though every flower had at least one other meaning I came across.


End file.
